Cover Image: Nasla's Dream

Nasla's Dream

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Nasla has decided she's grown up enough that she doesn't need to sleep with her toys any more, and asks her father to put them on top of her wardrobe. At bedtime, once the light is out, she sees a yellow spot on top of her wardrobe- is that her turtle, looking down at her? What's that hanging down and swinging- is that Timboubou the elephant's trunk? Nasla longs to tell her toys they'll be happy up there together, she wants to sing and dance to make them feel safe, but bedtime isn't for talking, singing, or dancing- bedtime is for sleeping. She imagines scary things in the dark- ghosts, a squid reaching for her, and reaches under her pillow for her secret good luck charm, and finally falls asleep, to dream of playing with all her toys, while the cat jumps down from the wardrobe. A sweet story about facing fears, and growing up (and how that can feel scary). The illustrations are gorgeous, and have a slightly surreal, dreamy quality to them that I really liked. A good bedtime story, I think, because it shows how the things we're afraid of in the dark are usually quite normal, not scary things.

#NaslasDream #NetGalley

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'Nasla's Dream' by Cecile roumiguiere with illustrations by Somone Rea is a picture book about a young girl at bedtime.

Nasla is in bed, but not asleep. She sees a yellow reflection on the top of her dresser. She wonders which of the toys she recently grew out of that it could be. She imagines the conversation they would have as she drifts in to a dream world.

I liked this gentle story of bed time and outgrowing treasured toys. The book has some really interesting illustrations and would be a fun read to share with a child.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Princeton Architectural Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

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A yellow dot appears above Nasla's wardrobe as she is trying to get to sleep. Which one of her toys might it be? She'd asked her father to put them away on top of the wardrobe as she was now a big girl. How she longs to sing and talk and play with her toys, but that's not what you do at bedtime. Bedtime is for sleep. When she finally drifts off to sleep with the help of her special comforter she dreams of all the things she wants to do with her toys. But who or what was that yellow dot...

The illustrations in this book by Simone Rea are really unique. I love when children's books have something a little bit different in their images. Most of the pages have images that are confined to the space and walls of a room which gives a really interesting, cosy feel. There are so many interesting shapes and patterns to look at too.

Thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for the electronic review copy. #NaslasDream

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Big Girl Choices and Worries

Nasla has decided that she is a big girl now and no longer needs to sleep with her toys, so she had her father put them all on top of her wardrobe. As she is trying to fall asleep, she notices a big yellow dot on top of the wardrobe, and this sparks a number of imaginative ideas of what she might be seeing and thoughts of her toys and the Moon. She eventually takes out her baby blanket to help settle down, and she does fall to sleep, dreaming of her toys, things that might go bump in the night, and the Moon. At the end of the story, we learn that the yellow dot is the eye of the family cat perched on the wardrobe, curious about the toys. This is a sweet story about how it isn't easy at times to fall asleep when you might want to play… or if you imagine scary things in the dark; of course, too, it is also about deciding whether to continue to sleep without toys around you. If your child is at that juncture, this book might be helpful. Even if not, it's a sweet and imaginative story, and I loved how it was the cat’s eye at the end that was the yellow spot that so intrigued Nasla throughout. The illustrations perfectly matched Nasla’s imagination.

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This beautifully strange picture book follows Nasla, a child experience some growing pains, through her fears and dreams.

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Nasla’s Dream is clever and quite deep. Those are qualities I recognize as an adult, but I’m unsure how the story and illustrations would be received by young children. The somber tone and nightscape remind me a teeny bit of the classic Goodnight Moon. I think I’d get a better feel for how the book lands once I’ve introduced it to kids. As for now, I feel mixed.

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A slow-paced, poetic stream-of-conscious for patient and curious young readers, translated from the original French story. Thoughtful phrases and intriguing, enchanting illustrations work together to recreate the experience of trying to fall asleep with questions about what appears in the dark.

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I enjoyed Simone Rea's oil painting illustration style and, given the style and focus, this brief picture book is very well suited for a bedtime story. The last page gave me a bit of a charmed chuckle, but I won't spoil it by telling you why!

The e-galley on Netgalley that I read didn't include any biographical information about the author or illustrator, but I hope those are included in the final product. And since this story was was first published in French in France, I also wondered if there is a translator for this work who should credited or if the author Cécile Roumiguière also did the English edition.

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Nasla is a young girl with a big imagination. It’s time for bed, but Nasla isn’t asleep. She sees a yellow dot in her room and wonders where it’s coming from. Is it her toy turtle staring back at her, or maybe something else? Her imagination runs free as she stares through the darkness at the things she sees.

This is a good book for young children with wondering minds at night time. I can remember what that was like, and Nasla’s Dream is a book I would’ve enjoyed at a young age. Nasla finds a way to cope and discovers that there’s nothing to be afraid of. This can be a positive story to help calm a child’s fear of the dark.

The illustrations are quite dark, but the scenes carry the mood of the book with just enough detail, keeping it interesting. The ending was a nice surprise and quite unexpected. We enjoyed this and will likely read it again.

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There is a time in a child's life when they decide that they are too "grown up" for the stuffed animals that offered comfort at bedtime.  Nasla has just made this declaration but...her world suddenly feels less safe.  How will she get to sleep?  This book with its nocturnal illustrations will answer that question. 


I feel that the youngest children might be a little frightened as they hear this story.  Slightly older children may enjoy it though, especially if it is served with a bit of reassurance and a good night kiss!


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

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Nasla is a young girl who has decided she’s too old to sleep with her collection of stuffed animals, and so her father has put them on top of her wardrobe, at her request. But when night falls, and Nasla is in bed where darkness has covered the walls around her, she sees a bright yellow dot above the wardrobe. She wonders who it is that is looking at her.

Is it her toy turtle?

She decides that even a very unhappy stuffed turtle doesn’t usually stare like that.

She begins to worry about this eye glowing in the dark, and goes over various scenarios in her mind, Should she sing?
No…
And then she sees a shadow.
And then the shadow moves.

She wants to tell her toys that she is a big girl now, and that they will be happy on top of the wardrobe.
But, no… At night, you sleep

Various scenarios play out, with variations on the reminder that night is not for singing, or talking, or dancing. As her worries grow, she reaches for her secret charm under her pillow, one she keeps for nights like this – the blanket her mother gave her as a baby.

The illustrations, which are more like art than you find in most children’s books, are simple but lovely, colourful and lend a lovely quality to this book, for both parent and child.



Pub Date: 15 Sep 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Princeton Architectural Press

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I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is a children's book about a little girl called Nasla who sees an orange glow above her wardrobe in bed at night and who's imagination runs wild as to what it could be.
I think the artwork was great but too scary for it's intended audience as little ones imaginations run wild and this would scare them at bedtime.

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When I was a kid, me and my younger brother slept in bunk beds, with him on the top one. One night I was lying awake when something dropped to the floor, and I reached to pick it up thinking it was one of his plush toys that had fallen down, but the thing reared up. It freaked me out until I realized it was the cat which had evidently been up there on his bunk and just jumped down. Way to weird out a young kid!

Nasla has a similar problem and she never does discover what it is, but in this book aimed at reassuring young children that the things which might give them some cause for fear at night are not really fearful at all, some equally strange things take place.

Lying in bed in the dark and decidedly not going to sleep, Nasla is concerned about this little yellow circle of light on top of her wardrobe, which is where she keeps her old toys now she's feeling grown up. So is this light coming from her elephant? Her broken hippo? Is it somehow caused by moonlight? The more Nasla contemplates it, the more fantastical are the images that go through her mind and her ideas about how she might ease not her own fears, but those of her toys.

Eventually, of course she does fall asleep and that's when we readers discover what it was. I enjoyed this book, and the imagery, artistry, and imagination that went into creating it. I commend it as a worthy read.

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Oh WOW!!! I don't remember the last time I perused a young children's book and thought to myself, this should be in a museum! What breathtaking illustration by Simone Rea, in *perfect* concert with the wonderful story by Cecile Roumiguiere.

This is the sort of story you must have on hand to banish the night fears of a child. The story goes through the small terrors of a little girl wondering about the shadows and a small light in her bedroom in the dark. There is a resolution to the dilemma that could work fantastically for some children, a transformation with the secret aid of a magical thing. And there is a most hilarious punchline at the very end that shows nothing is as it seems, in the dark.

Some may think the story too scary for *their* child (what I see in other reviewers), but the point here is that if the child is already voicing the concerns of the book, that can be made valid to the child, can be given understanding so that the child can be disarmed by way of agreement, and the way out can be seen. To each parent reading, it is up to them to see if the story needs embellishment for their child - to be clear:

The illustration is so good that a parent could also amend the story to a non-reading young child and take it where best for a particular child, using the current beautiful storyline as a springboard for a new telling, an amended medicine, if needed. The story as written is perfect as is, but the point is to agree with your child and then take the child a new direction; it would be easy to add in a child's concerns, or take the story a slightly different direction, to have this be a regular night aid to getting a child to sleep in their bed alone in the dark.

The point of the story is the transformation of imagery. That is what is accomplished. Emphasizing, the point is TRANSFORMATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY. That is done in the latter portion of the book. This is a life-skill to teach! Parents must know to spend more time on the transformation, and adapt to their child. The point is not adding to what imagery a child already holds, but to take that imagery and give it *new meaning* in a child's mind, to change the definition of the image. The parent does that, taking this book as springboard. This book is perfect for teaching this skill. A child with drawing capability could add their own drawing ideas.

The artwork is also a stunning display of high contrast, perfect for baby eyes! For that reason I recommend this book for even newborns as eye focus, and I don't think I've ever thought that of a children's book before. The black against white and red is so lush and pure, with wonderful deviations of blues, it is a treat for all ages, a gorgeous work of art.

Truly stunning book. A children's book that is a feast for even adult eyes, 5 stars, more than 5 stars, a perfect child book creation!

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While this book has quite good intentions, and might be a good conversation starter with a small child about night fears, I found it a little scary. And thinking back on a childhood that had a spell of night fears, I suspect that this would have failed to comfort me. So I am wondering if the net result of reading this to a fearful child would be positive.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Princeton Architectural Press for his free ARC in return for my honest review. I liked this book. I found it a really good book for moms and dads to read to their children and then for young readers to enjoy themselves. The story is basically that Nasla has decided to put away here final stuffed toy and she sees a yellow dot glowing in the dark. Her imagination runs wild as to what it could be. It is a really good book to let kids understand that it can be scary sleeping by themselves for the first few nights, but that there is always a rational explanation for things. The drawings are basic, and that is good for this book and fits the story. By the end Nasla finally is able to fall asleep and we discover the source of the yellow dot. Not complicated but yet a book I would want to rend to little ones.

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Well I'm more inclined to call this an art book than a picture book for children. It features a girl in bed at night, knowing what she should and should not be doing – and what she should be doing is sleeping, but she cannot, as her vivid imagination is turning a yellow glow in her discarded toys atop the wardrobe into something else. Unfortunately, the artist here has a vivid imagination too, and has turned every page into something else, as well – and generally something that would appear to keep the intended reader of this wide awake. Here is the girl peeping up from between her bedroom's floorboards, here a giant all-enveloping eye, here a trio of figures with Melies' moon for heads. Oh and a very mundane conclusion to the plot. The way the art is such a non sequitur to the text at times, the very startling invention in the images – all makes me think nightmare, and not the soothing entry to dreamland I think the book is supposed to be. If it's a comfort blanket it's one designed by Shaun Tan possessed by Heironymus Bosch. Take the story as a representation of a girl who might not be as old as she thinks she is, just because her cuddlies are now on top of the wardrobe – but take on board this is not suitable for last thing at night.

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